If Monday's game at Bolton Wanderers is as pivotal to Chelsea’s season as
Carlo Ancelotti believes, the manager will be hoping desperately that Frank
Lampard can recover from a calf strain in time to play.

Back in the spotlight: Chelsea's improved form has coincided with Lampard's return from injuryPhoto: PA

By Gerry Cox

10:30PM GMT 22 Jan 2011

As Chelsea stand at a crossroads that could lead either to success or failure, their recent form highlights how Lampard more than any other player has been central to the club’s success in the past six years, during which they have won three Premier League titles and three FA Cups.

Having started the season with six straight victories, scoring 25 goals and conceding only two, Chelsea lost their way soon after Lampard was injured and embarked on the worst run in their recent history, failing to get a win from six league games.

After the best part of four months out, Lampard returned two days after Christmas, since when Chelsea have won three out of five.

Like the midfielder,Chelsea are feeling their way back to form slowly, and manager Carlo Ancelotti maintains that the test of whether they have turned a corner will come at the Reebok Stadium. With Lampard battling to be fit, Chelsea will not have it easy.

“Lampard had a little problem with his calf but I hope he will be available,” Ancelotti said. “We were without him for some months and knew it was very important to have him back. I still think that Lampard is ready for a fantastic season.”

Chelsea have won seven games in succession at Bolton, scoring 14 goals and conceding none but Ancelotti is wary of Owen Coyle’s much improved side. “Bolton are stronger than last season and this will be a difficult game,” he said. “It is a good test.”

A chapter of Lampard’s career that featured Bolton illustrates his importance to the side. In 2004, Phil Brown, then assistant manager to Sam Allardyce at the club, explained how difficult it was to play against him. “We looked at the ProZone figures, and Lampard’s stats were the equivalent to two of our midfielders added together,” he said.

“We thought: ‘Bloody hell, how do you stop this guy?’ The answer was we couldn’t.”

In April of that season, Lampard scored twice in a 2-0 win at Bolton as Chelsea secured their first league title for 50 years. His 22 goals from midfield were a cornerstone of their success, and he was voted Footballer of the Year, before scoring 23 the following season as Chelsea retained their title.

Despite Lampard’s recent injury struggles, Ancelotti is confident the player has many years ahead of him. “He is in good condition and can have a lot of seasons to come because he is fit and very professional,” the Italian said. “I think he will finish his career here at Chelsea.”

The concern for Chelsea is how to replace Lampard him when he is injured. Deco, Michael Ballack, Joe Cole and Ricardo Carvalho left in the summer, leaving the squad light on experience. But the gamble on youth does not appear to have worked, with Chelsea doing so badly while Lampard and John Terry were injured. Would Ancelotti have changed anything, with hindsight?

“Because players were at the end of their contracts, we wanted to give the young players more chance to grow from the academy,” he said. “We have to wait to see if we had a good idea.”

He is concerned that Chelsea can no longer compete with Manchester City in the transfer market. In the past week Steven Pienaar chose Tottenham Hotspur over Chelsea. “Pienaar was not a priority,” said Ancelotti.

But he knows City are in a different league in terms of wages and transfer fees, having spent more than £400 million since Abu Dhabi United Group took control of the club two years ago. They raised the bar when they gave Carlos Tévez a contract worth £230,000 a week last month.

“There is one team that is above the others,” Ancelotti said. “Manchester City have spent a lot of money to improve their squad.Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, we all built our teams before this season and so we don’t need to spend money in this moment. But City needed to spend to take very important players, and get to the top and stay there.”

Nevertheless, he still has to ensure a top-four finish. “It is very important for us to stay high in the table because we want to play in the Champions League,” he said. “Anything else is unthinkable.”